


The Embrace of a Mother

by anactualforrealadult



Series: Zuko the single dad wonder [8]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: References to Child Abuse, Zuko reunites with his mom, again bc its zuko, also someone gets their dick chopped off, as a treat, azula gets redeemed bc i said so, but only a bit bc its zukos family, comics whomst, dont ask me how but she do, he's a good dad folks, i have never heard of canon in my life, its a surprise, kiyi is allowed to exist bc i said so, single dad Zuko, theres like some angst, zuko can have a new little sister
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26081116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anactualforrealadult/pseuds/anactualforrealadult
Summary: Kiyi spends most of her childhood on the run.  From what, she doesn't know.  As a young adult, she sees a poster asking for information on the Fire Lord's mother.  The picture on the poster matches her mother's face.I've never heard of canon in my life, but Zuko finally gets to reunite with his mother.
Series: Zuko the single dad wonder [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1786198
Comments: 34
Kudos: 158





	The Embrace of a Mother

The war ends when Kiyi is four. She doesn’t remember much about the war and its ending, only vague memories of people celebrating in her village with music and fireworks. Her father lets her watch the bright sparkling lights from their house, even though her mother begs him to keep her away from the windows. The people of the village are happy, but her mother is not. Ursa shakes with fear every time she hears the crack of the fireworks, or when outside voices come too close to their house. Kiyi’s father pretends that he isn’t scared, but she can hear both of her parent’s frantic whispers after they put her to bed. She only catches pieces of their conversation, “Ozai…manipulative…could be like him…trap…it’s been so long…how can we be sure…like his sister”. 

Her parents won’t let her leave the house the next day, even when her father makes a trip to the market. She stays inside with her mother as Ursa packs a few bags of essentials. They add her father’s supplies when he returns. She gets woken up in the middle of the night, and they leave the village without saying goodbye to any of the residents. 

Over the next year, the small family travels between the islands of the Fire Nation, never staying in one place very long. Her father calls himself Noren, and her mother Noriko. They teach her to only use these names, but Kiyi doesn’t forget their real ones. They celebrate her fifth birthday in a larger fishing village on the coast, and her present is being allowed to accompany her mother to the market to pick out ingredients for her birthday dinner. While they are there, they overhear some villagers gossiping, and she feels her mother stiffen when she hears their words.

“Have you heard? Fire Lord Zuko is searching for his long lost mother. The bastard Ozai sent her away from the capital years ago, and no one has heard from her since. Now the Fire Lord is offering a huge reward for anyone who has any information about her.”

All plans for her birthday dinner abandoned, Kiyi is half dragged home. As soon as they close the door, her mother collapses to the floor crying and shaking. She is breathing strangely, and Noren (Ikem, Kiyi’s mind corrects) holds her tightly and tries to get her to follow his breathing. When she can speak again, she relays what they heard in the market. Kiyi’s birthday dinner occurs deep in the woods around a small campfire. It’s not what she had wanted, but she thought twice about complaining after seeing how scared her parents were as they quickly packed and fled the village.

They don’t stay in any villages after that for a long time. Kiyi grows up surrounded by trees and mountains. Her father teaches her how to hunt and fish, and her mother teaches her reading and writing, and they practice counting with nuts and colorful leaves. Noriko (Ursa, her mind suggests) never goes into towns anymore. Her father goes sparingly. Kiyi goes twice during this time, once to have her broken leg set by a healer, and another when she has a fever that doesn’t fade after three days. She misses spending time amongst people and the bustle of life, but her childhood is still a happy one. Her dreams feature comforting campfires, her mother’s lullabies, and her father’s warm laugh.

When she is twelve, she asks Ikem why they live like this. They are fishing, her mother further down the stream doing laundry. In a low voice, her father tells her a story. Her mother once lived in the capital city, and was married to a horrible man who took pleasure out of hurting others. He was a high official, and Ursa was well acquainted with the royal family. She knew the current Fire Lord when he was a small child, and while he was kind and gentle back then, the world he lived in did not encourage it. There was much potential for that gentle child to turn into a monster like Ursa’s husband. She was able to get away from that world, but never determined what kind of person that child would grow up to be. Ursa reconnected with Ikem, her childhood sweetheart, and they married and had Kiyi soon after. The Fire Lord had promised to end the war, but such promises had been made before by his predecessors. Their idea of ending the war was putting all the nations under subjugation through death and destruction. There was no way for Ursa and Ikem to know what the new Fire Lord planned to do, but they didn’t want to be around to find out. By living in hiding, they could avoid the dangerous hands of the monarchy, keep Kiyi safe in case the royal leaders decided to turn their destruction on their own citizens. Kiyi understood her parent’s fears now. Living on the edge of society was a small price to pay for safety in a dangerous world. 

When she is fifteen, her parents have an argument. She pretends to be asleep, but she can still hear their voices carry from their spot away from the campsite. 

“…Don’t want to take that risk Ikem! You don’t know what those people are like! I couldn’t save Zuko or Azula, but I can still keep Kiyi safe!”

“She _is_ safe Ursa. The people talk about their prosperity, how their families are being reunited! There is trade between the nations, and the soldiers have all returned home. It’s all over…”

“The Fire Nation is very skilled at propaganda Ikem, you know that as well as I do.”

“I know, but I’m seeing the truth with my own eyes. There are no soldiers in the towns, I haven’t seen one in _years_. I wouldn’t be asking you to take this risk if I wasn’t completely sure. I would never do anything that would put you and Kiyi in danger. She deserves to be with people her own age now.”

Her father must have won the argument, because the next day they pack up the camp. The move into a house on the furthest edge of a village, and slowly reacquaint themselves with society. Her mother still doesn’t go farther than their front yard. A few months later, they take a ship as regular passengers (not stowed away with the cargo like normal) and settle in a bustling fishing town where her father has found work. It takes a few weeks, but her mother is finally coaxed out of their home by Ikem and goes with them to the market for the first time in years. Kiyi starts going to school and tries to make friends for the first time. It’s hard, and she doesn’t mind too much when they move again a year later. They have finally returned to the island where she and her parents were born. The new house sits on a nice sized property, allowing her mother to grow a garden. They are close enough to town so that they can walk, but they still have some privacy. Her father says that this is the last time they will move, but Kiyi doesn’t settle into the fact until they have lived there for several years.

Now a young adult, Kiyi longs to travel again. Not out of fear, but the need for exploration. As often as they moved around, she feels like she hasn’t actually seen much of the Fire Nation, she wants to experience the people and the culture. She convinces her father to take her on little trips, starting close to home and slowly going farther away from home. Never farther than they can travel in one day, and her mother never joins, fretting until they return. One of her friends is visiting the capital city with her family, and Kiyi begs to be allowed to join. Her mother is vehemently against the idea, but her father trusts the parents, and allows her to go. She gives her mother an extra-long hug, and promises to write, even though she will be gone barely a week.

Caldera is beautiful and overwhelming. The marketplace is crowded and filled with people of all nations. She eats foreign food and buys gifts for her parents. The third day in the city, she sees the Fire Lord. She’s trying to decide what kind of necklace her mother might like, when she hears the owner of the stall next to her greet the royal. Glancing over, she sees a man who can’t be more than a decade older than her, carrying a small child on his hip. He has a wide smile and asks after the stall owners family. The child, who is maybe two, gestures to one of the stuffed pastries, and the Fire Lord helps her ask how much it costs politely. He put his daughter on the ground and crouches down to help her count out how many coins she needs. After paying for the pastry, the Fire Lord tries to lead his daughter to thank the owner.

“What do we say Izumi?”

“I love you!”

The owner and the girl’s father giggle. “No, darling, the other thing we say when we get something.”

“I love you! Thanks you!”

The man laughs again and plants a kiss on his daughter’s cheek. He thanks the stall owner and starts to walk away. Kiyi can just hear him tell Izumi how proud he is of her before the two are out of earshot. She thinks about the story her father once told her about the Fire Lord, how he had been a kind and gentle child. Perhaps that story didn’t have an unhappy ending like they thought.

She tells her parents about the encounter when she returns. Her father is delighted, and her mother is visibly uncomfortable. Ursa excuses herself from dinner early, and doesn’t come out of her room for the rest of the night. Kiyi doesn’t talk about the Fire Lord again around her.

She sees the man again a few months later, breaking up a fight at a market a few islands over from her own. He doesn’t use fire bending, and doesn’t yell, instead using a firm voice and asking to hear a calm retelling of the issue. His daughter is held by one of his guards, a woman in green and masking makeup. Izumi smiles happily when the fighting men come to an agreement, ad she wiggles out of the arms of her keeper so she can embrace her father’s legs. The man picks her up with a smile that takes up more of his face than the deep red scar over his eye. Kiyi hears him tell her how important it is to work things out with words. 

A few months after that, Kiyi spies a poster in a town she is visiting. It details the Fire Lord’s desire to find his mother, with a generous reward for anyone who has any information whatsoever. Unlike similar posters she has seen, this one has a picture attached. The woman looks like what her own might have looked like twenty years ago. The woman _is_ what her mother looked like twenty years ago. She scans the poster again, and finds that it lists the woman’s name: Ursa. It had been over a decade since her mother went by that name, but she could never forget it. 

When she returns home, she questions her father. He repeatedly denies her until she is near tears. With a sigh, he finally relents. He confirms her suspicions. Her mother was once the mother of the Fire Lord. She had been married to the former Fire Lord, but was sent away after she risked her life for her son’s. Ikem reunited with her shortly after she returned to her home village. He begged Kiyi to keep quiet about what she had found. Her mother had been a nervous wreck since the end of the war. She couldn’t be sure what kind of man her son had become, and was too scared to find out. Frustrated, Kiyi agreed, but when her parents weren’t looking, she took a photo of the family and hid it amongst her belongings. It had been taken a few years prior at a village festival, and should be confirmation enough of her mother’s identity should she ever run into the Fire Lord again. The man had been searching for his mother for, what? Fifteen years? Longer? She couldn’t imagine being separated from either of her parents for so long.

It would be over a year before she saw the man again. She was travelling alone through a mountain village when she saw him and his daughter walking through the town square with the mayor. Summoning her courage, she approached him with a bow.

“My apologies for interrupting my lord, I was hoping I could speak to you about an urgent matter.”

The man apologized to the mayor and asked if they could continue their conversation later. “Of course, anything for one of my citizens.” He replied, returning the bow. 

“Thank you, sir. I have information about your mother.”

His eyes widened in shock. “My…I can’t believe it…I’ve been searching for years and I have yet to hear even a rumor. Please, what do you know?” He led her to sit on a nearby bench. Izumi stayed close by, playing a game with one of the green-clad guards who travelled with them.

Kiyi brought out her family picture from her pack and handed it over. The Fire Lord stared at it reverently, sucking in a deep breath. “That’s her…that’s my mother…I-how old is this picture?”

“Not old, maybe four years at most.”

“Only four years…she’s alive? She-she’s well?” He was still staring at her mother’s face, holding the picture as if it was a precious relic.

“Yes, she’s alive and well.” She paused before deciding to continue with all that she knew. “She’s my mother.”

At that, the Fire Lord’s head shot up. “Your mother?” He seemed to be searching her face. “Is she-is she here, is this your village?” He was near frantic now, shaking slightly and tears forming in his eyes.

She shook her head, “No, I’m just travelling. We live on Hira’a.”

He appeared confused. “But I searched Hira’a, I searched every inch of the island, spoke to every citizen.”

“We left right when the war ended, we didn’t return until a few years ago.”

“But-I was-we-why…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry…this is a lot to take in…remind me your name?”

She realized she hadn’t actually told him. “It’s Kiyi, my lord.”

“There’s no need for formalities, you can just call me Zuko.” He smiled as he wiped his eyes. “Kiyi, do you have anywhere you need to be right now?”

That caught her off guard. “Um, no I don’t.”

“Would you join me back at our guest house? I think we have a lot to talk about, and I would prefer we do it in private because I have a feeling I’m going to cry a lot.” He chuckled.

She smiled back. “It would be an honor, sir.”

He rolled his eyes. “I literally just told you to just call me Zuko. I try to avoid people using my formal title if I can help it.” He paused, a shy smile on his face. “And…if what I’ve just discovered is correct…I’m your brother.”

Her brother. She had been so caught up in her quest that she hadn’t take into account the implication of the Fire Lord being her mother’s son. They had the same mother. She was his sister. She barely registered Zuko calling to his daughter and was lost in thought all the way to the mayor’s guest house. Once inside, Zuko led her to sit in the living area, dismissing his guard. He got down to Izumi’s level, and she could hear him explain that he needed to have an important discussion with their guest and that she was free to play in the room as long as she was quiet and didn’t interrupt too much. The four year old nodded, and Zuko kissed her on the head before she set off to play with some dolls in the corner. 

Kiyi declined his offer for refreshments, and he finally came to sit across her at the low table. He appeared to be organizing his thoughts for a moment before speaking.

“Did your mother ever tell you why she had to leave Caldera?”

“She didn’t, but my father did. He said she had been sent away after risking her life for her-for you.” He nodded. “After she left, she returned back to Hira’a, and reunited with my father. Apparently, they knew each other from childhood. They married not long after.”

“I’m not completely sure of the full story myself, but it checks out with what I know.” He looked solemn. “My grandfather was angry at my father. He had asked for my grandfather to skip over my uncle and name him crown prince instead. For the act of disrespect, my grandfather allegedly ordered my father to kill me.” Zuko spoke the last words quietly, keeping Izumi from hearing them. Kiyi was shocked by the information, and it must have shown on her face, because he chuckled.

“Yeah, my family was incredibly messed up. Anyway, all I know is that I didn’t die, but that night, my mom came to my room and told me that she loved me. The next morning, she was gone and my grandfather was dead, supposedly declaring my father his heir beforehand. I don’t know what happened for sure, but I suspect that she secured my life in exchange for my grandfather’s death.”

They sat in silence for a moment, Kiyi taking in the information.

“So…what happened to her after she left? Clearly she married your father and had you, but why weren’t you all in Hira’a when I came to look for her? Why didn’t she reach out to me after the war?” Kiyi almost didn’t want to tell him the truth, seeing the pain in his eyes. He had clearly loved their mother, and missed her terribly. But he needed to know.

“When the war ended, she and my father got scared. They didn’t know if the war was actually over or not. We moved around, never staying in one place for long. When we heard that you were looking for her, she panicked.” His face held confusion, and Kiyi forced herself to continue. “My father says that she wasn’t sure what kind of man you had grown up to be. She couldn’t be sure that you were looking for her out of love. She was afraid that you might have grown up to be like your father. We didn’t live in towns after that, camping in the woods and the mountains, interacting with others as little as possible. It was only a few years ago when my father managed to convince my mother that it was safe to return to society, that maybe you had really ended the war, and that maybe you had given up looking for her.”

Her heart broke looking at the man. Zuko’s head was now in his hands and he was shaking. She couldn’t tell if he was crying or not, but she suspected he was. After a few moments, he pulled his head back up, wiping his eyes and confirming her suspicions.

“I’m sorry, it’s just-she was so important to me, I loved her so much, and the fact that she was _scared_ of me…” Tears were reforming. “I had hoped that she would want to reunite with me as much as I did, it didn’t even occur to me that she would be afraid. It makes sense though. My father was a monster. My sister was on the path to become just like him. And I…” He took a deep breath. “There was a time when I might have turned out like them. I was angry, and sad, and scared, and I nearly let myself fall into their ways. It was only thanks to my uncle that I didn’t, and that I found the courage to fight against them.”

She took his hand to comfort him, and he gave her a small smile. “Did she ever talk about me? Or my sister, Azula?” His question was practically a whisper, and his smile fell when she shook her head.

“No…I’m sorry. I only put together the pieces a little over a year ago, when I saw one of your posters requesting information about her.”

“I should have guessed, that would only make sense.” A thought struck him, and he furrowed his brow “Wait. Have you been carrying around your family photo this whole time in case you ever saw me?”

Kiyi nodded, “I wasn’t sure I could convince you over a letter, and I had no idea how I could get an audience with you, so I just kept it with me just in case. I’ve actually run into you twice, before I realized the truth. I thought maybe I would get lucky again.”

A smile had come back to his face. “We have? Where? And why were you so determined to find me, if your parents have been so scared?”

“We didn’t actually meet officially, I just happened to be nearby both times. And it was those interactions that convinced me that you were probably a safe person who just wanted to find their mom. The first was at the Caldera marketplace, you were there with your daughter, and the way you interacted with her and the stall owner was just so kind and sweet, it was very endearing. The second time was in Shu Jing, I saw you break up a fight between two men peacefully.”

Zuko nodded, “I remember that second event, I was there visiting my childhood sword master, and one of the men was accusing the other of farming on his property. I’m glad that those events were able to sway your opinion of me, both as my sister and as a citizen. It’s important to me to show my best self to my people.”

“Yeah I’m actually still trying to wrap my mind over the fact that I’m technically your sister.” She chuckled. “I have no other siblings, and now suddenly I have two and both of them are royalty.”

“Well, only one of them is actually,” He said thoughtfully. “Azula had a breakdown at the end of the war. She spent many years in a mental institution sorting through her life and trying to unlearn the abuse she suffered from Ozai.” He looked like he was remembering an unhappy memory. “He preferred to physically abuse me, but he manipulated and abused her mentally and emotionally. When she was finally well enough to be released, she asked me to revoke he royal status. She just wanted to live a simple life on her own, out of the spotlight of the palace. She doesn’t have a title anymore, but I still send her an allowance, and she lives at one of our estates on Ember Island. Our relationship has been a work in progress, but it has definitely improved since Izumi was born.” He looked over at his daughter with love. She must have heard her name, because she scampered over and sat in his lap, throwing her arms around his neck.

“Are you talking about me Daddy?” She teased. Zuko held her tightly and peppered her face with kisses as she giggled.

“Every moment I possibly can my darling.” Izumi snuck a kiss on his nose, and he gasped in fake surprise. Then she ran off back to her toys. Zuko looked happier than Kiyi had seen all day.

“I can tell how much you love her, it reminds me of my dad. Even when things weren’t great, he always made time for me.”

Zuko turned back to her, blushing. “She’s my whole world. I don’t know how I lived without her in my life.”

“You and your wife must be so proud.”

“No wife actually,” He responded, surprising her. “Never wanted to marry, but I needed an heir. I used a surrogate, and now it’s just the two of us. Being a single parent isn’t always easy, but I’ve never regretted it.”

Kiyi was impressed. Her parents had always been a team, relying on each other and never wanting to be away from the other for long. She couldn’t imagine raising a child on her own. Being Fire Lord must make some things easier, but children are still a lot of work.

Before long, the sun had set. They had filled the hours talking about their mom and their childhoods. Food had been brought in at some point, and they ate while they chatted, Izumi joining them as her father helped her practice her table manners. Before long, Izumi was yawning while coloring at their table, having abandoned her corner of toys in favor for her father’s side. Zuko scooped her up and held her against his chest until she fell asleep. Once her breathing had evened out, he softly lay her on the ground, keeping her head on his lap. Finally, Kiyi couldn’t stifle her own yawns. A gracious host, Zuko offered her one of the guest rooms. She had planned on just staying at the local hostel that night, so she found no reason to turn down his offer of a real shower and a large bed. He came to wish her a goodnight after putting Izumi in bed, and in a spur of courage she pulled him into a hug. The Fire Lord stiffened at first in surprise, but quickly melted into it, holding her just as fiercely. She had only truly known him for a few hours, but she couldn’t deny the familial love she had for her new brother.

She slept better in the guest bed than she had all week on hostel cots. The moment she stepped out of her room, she was attacked by a four year old who pulled her to the dining room. Zuko ( _her brother!)_ was sitting there reading some papers, but looked up with a smile when the girls came in.

“Daddy! Auntie Kiyi woke up so now we can eat breakfast together!” Kiyi was taken aback by the term of endearment, and her surprise must have shown on her face.

Zuko blushed, “I hope it’s ok that she calls you that. Like, obviously you are actually her aunt, but also she has a habit of calling any family friend her aunt or uncle.”

“It’s fine! I was just a surprise…I guess I didn’t think about the fact that I’m an aunt now.” Izumi was beaming up at her, and Kiyi couldn’t help but give her an affectionate hair ruffle. Zuko smiled at their interaction, and then dug through his papers for a folded note that he handed to his sister.

“This is for mom. I know she probably won’t want to see me, but I wanted a chance to explain some things. And to tell her how much I still love her.” The letter was sealed, so the contents were clearly private. She carefully put it in her jacket pocket. Then he handed her a tiny wooden plaque with the same intricate seal as the letter. It had sturdy string connected to it, as if it was meant to be attached to something.

“That’s my official seal,” He explained. “I said in my letter that I would completely understand if she didn’t want to visit me in Caldera, but you can use the seal to send mail directly to me in case she wants to write to me or if she wants me to come to you. Or, well, if you just wanted to send me mail just because.” Zuko smiled sheepishly at the last admission. “It would mean a lot to me if we could keep in touch.”

“I want to send mail to Auntie Kiyi too! Can I send her a letter too Daddy?” Izumi was practically bouncing in her chair with some toast hanging out of her mouth.

“Of course you can sweetie, I would love to get a letter from my favorite niece.” Kiyi did her best not to laugh at Izumi’s beaming face.

“I’m your faaavorite niece?!” Kiyi nodded, figuring it was not the time to mention that the little princess was also her only niece.

The rest of the meal passed happily, Kiyi enjoying this new piece of family she had found. Before long, Kiyi had to leave to catch a boat. She politely refused her brother’s offer for transportation on their ship later that evening, saying that she had already purchased her ticket, and that her friends were expecting to meet her in the early afternoon. Finally relenting, Zuko let her go with just a long hug that he punctuated with a kiss on her head. She blushed, but she was happy to take whatever love she could get from her brother. The father and daughter waved to her from the shore, and Kiyi spent the short ride basking in the hours spent with her new family members.

When she finally arrived home, she waited until she had some time alone with her mother in their immaculate flower garden. Her mother was horrified to find out that Kiyi had not only _seen_ the Fire Lord, but had _talked_ with him, for hours no less. She calmed down after Kiyi continued speaking about their time together, but still seemed wary. Finally, Kiyi gave her mother the letter from Zuko, and gave her time to read it alone. She went back inside the house, and before long could hear her mother’s sobs from outside. After what seemed like hours, her mother came back inside, eyes red and puffy. A letter was sent to the Fire Lord soon after asking if he would come to visit Hira’a and see his mother.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Even after his long talks with Kiyi ( _his sister!_ ), Zuko was still incredibly nervous about seeing his mother again after twenty odd years. He was a father now, the Fire Lord, hero of the 100 Years War ( _and best friends with the Avatar!_ his inner Aang added). Would she still be anything like he remembered? He commiserated with Sokka sometimes, on the bad days where he realized he needed to see her picture in order to remember her face. He had even talked to Azula about it, and she admitted that in the years she hallucinated their mother’s face, it was always a little fuzzy and not fully clear.

His sister met him on the docks of Hira’a with a tight hug, and he gave a parting kiss to Izumi before following Kiyi to her home. He wanted his reunion with his mother to be a bit more private, so Izumi was staying on the royal ship with Suki, who had agreed to tag along while Sokka stayed back at the palace with their kids. Kiyi kept him occupied as they walked through the village, and he imagined the childhood his mother had had here. He looked over at his sister as she talked, wondering how he hadn’t realized who she was the moment they met. From a certain angle, she looked just like Azula. A little softer around the edges maybe, but the similarities were uncanny. Finally, they reached the house, a little ways from the village proper, with a beautiful garden in the front filled with fruits, vegetables, and flowers. A memory came to him, of his mother wishing she had her own garden to tend to. She had told him all the different kinds of flowers she had wanted to grow. It must have been before he learned to fear his father, because he also remembered Ozai saying what a stupid waste of time it was for nobility after Zuko told him. It appears that she had gotten her wish after all. And then the front door opened.

Zuko had imagined seeing his mother again a thousand times over in his brain. Not just since receiving Kiyi’s letter, but since the moment she had gone. He had thought about what he would do, what he would say, what she might say and do back. The scenarios were endless.

He probably should have guessed that his immediate reaction was going to be falling to his knees and sobbing.

In less than a second she was on the ground there with him, her arms around him. He was overwhelmed with her very presence and sobbed even harder into her shoulder. Azula had said their mother had always smelled of fancy hibiscus perfume. That wasn’t what he smelled now, but it must have been something intrinsically her, that he would only know as a sense memory created at birth. Her hands were more callused than he remembered as she rubbed his back and stroked his hair, but the hold was the same one that had comforted him after nightmares. He couldn’t concentrate on the words she was whispering in his ear, but the soft sound made him think of how she would remind him of his worth after he received abuse from Ozai. Suddenly, he was ten years old again. He barely registered that Kiyi had left his side and gone inside the house, closing the door to give them privacy. 

Minutes or hours could have passed while they held each other in the grass outside the house, they would have no way of knowing. Zuko tried to put so many words unsaid into his embrace until he could catch his breath again. When he could finally speak without bursting into tears again, he moved from his mother’s shoulder so he could see her face. He did so while still doing his best to keep hold of Ursa, he wasn’t planning on letting her go again now that he had her. She was smiling through her tears, holding his face in her hands and stroking his cheeks with her thumb. For the first time in his life, he didn’t even care that someone was touching his scar. 

“I missed you so much Mom, you can’t even imagine. I’m so, so sorry.”

“What could you ever be sorry for, my love?”

He leaned into the touch of her hands. “Sorry that you were ever scared I could hurt you. Sorry that your fears almost came true. Sorry that I didn’t look for you harder.”

“Baby, we found each other again when the universe decided that we were both ready. You have nothing to be sorry for.” She wiped some remaining tears from his eyes, and he did the same for her. 

“I love you Mom, more than you could possibly know. I have thought of you every day since you had to leave.”

“I have never stopping loving you Zuko, and I never stopped thinking of you either. Can you ever forgive me for leaving you in that place?”

He took a shaky breath, tears threatening to fall again. “Of course I forgive you, I forgave you a long time ago. There were years where I was angry about it, but I was more mad at myself than I was at you. I thought that something must wrong with me, that I wasn’t good enough to go with you.” He quickly continued when he saw her face filled with misery. “I stopped feeling that way after I learned the truth about what happened that night. Or at least, what I’m pretty sure happened. Ozai has never had a reason to tell me the truth, so I was never quite sure on the details. But I know that you would have never left me, or Azula, if you didn’t have to.”

She nodded, “It’s my greatest regret, that I couldn’t find some way to take both of you with me. If I had more time maybe…but nothing can be done about that now. The only thing that kept me from despair was knowing that your Uncle Iroh was there with you. He was always kind to me, from the moment I was brought to the palace. And I knew he loved both of you as his own, I trusted him to keep you safe.”

Zuko smiled thinking about Uncle. “I think he struggled at first, still reeling from the death of Lu Ten and Ozai’s betrayal, but he was finally able to lead me down the right path. It was harder for him to connect with Azula, she was pretty far gone for a while, but they are much closer now.”

Slowly, the two stood and walked arm in arm to the bench in the garden. He nestled into her side, and she continued to stroke his hair. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine they were sitting together beside the turtleduck pond again. 

She must have been reading his mind because a moment later she whispered, “I thought about asking Kiyi’s father to dig me a pond in the garden so I could have a place for some turtleducks. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it, it was always something that you and I shared, and I think it would have just made me sad. Maybe I could do it now that I have you back.”

Zuko hummed in agreement. “There’s still a flock that lives in that pond. I take my daughter there all the time. I taught her how to gain their trust by feeding them gently.”

“Kiyi told me about her. It’s hard to believe that my baby has his own baby.”

“It’s a little hard to believe there was a time in my life before I had her. It made me understand you better, and understand Ozai less. She’s my whole world, I would do anything for her. I would die before letting someone lay a wrong hand on her. The fact that Ozai would willingly do any of the things he did to his own children…it’s unimaginable.”

Ursa moved to cup her hand on his left cheek, asking an unsaid question. He nodded, understanding. “It was him. An Agni Kai. For speaking against one of his generals in the war room. I begged for forgiveness on my knees…I was thirteen.”

His mother pulled away from him violently, going quickly from the bench. He nearly moved after her, when he saw her stop and retch into the garden. After wiping her mouth and catching her breath, she returned to him a look of unimaginable anger in her eyes. She took him in her arms once again, and he could feel her shaking.

“Is the bastard dead?”

“No…the Avatar just took away his bending, he couldn’t bring himself to kill the man. Death would have been too good for him anyway.”

“Good. I want to do it myself. I want that man to regret the day he was born. To regret every laying a single finger or even his eyes on my children.”

“If it makes you feel better, you’re gonna have to get in line for that.” He pulled away so she could see his smile. “They don’t tell me, but I know for a fact that my friends make regular visits to his cell. And I have very creative friends. I’ve seen the results of their work during my few visits to see him, and I’m always impressed.”

Her brow furrowed. “You actually go to see him?”

“Only once a year, on the anniversary of his defeat. I like to let him know what monstrous things I’m doing on the throne, like free health care for all citizens and paying the palace staff a living wage.” His mother giggled. “Azula came with me once, years after the war. She didn’t say anything, just spat in his face and left.” Ursa was fully laughing now, and Zuko wasn’t far behind struggling to keep from fully breaking. “And-and Uncle tells me that some-sometimes he’s gone down there and just stared at him! Saying no-nothing and keeping his face neutral! The fastest he’s gotten Ozai to scream out of frustration is t-t-two minutes!”

Zuko couldn’t hold it in any longer, and both he and his mother were letting out fully belly laughter. She was leaning against him for support as he was doubled over on the bench. When they could both breathe once again, they spoke of life before and after the war. How Ursa met Ikem. Zuko working customer service in Ba Sing Se. Kiyi’s childhood. Azula’s breakdown and slow recovery. 

The sun was giving out its final rays, and Ursa turned to her son with a nervous look. “Would…would you like to meet Ikem? I know it’s strange, your mother remarried to a man you never met. I won’t be offended if you would rather not on this trip.”

Zuko gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand. “I would love to meet him. He’s important to you, and you love him. He’s been taking care of you for all the time I couldn’t, and he’s the reason I have another sister.”

She led him inside and formally introduced her son to Ikem. The older man moved to bow, but Zuko stopped him, instead dropping to his knees and lowering his head in a reverent gesture.

“I am forever indebted to you, sir. I know your life has not been easy since you chose to have her in your life, but you have kept her safe and loved her in ways my father never did. All that I have or will ever have is yours. You only need to say the word.”

Ikem is clearly caught off guard by the display. “I-you are too kind my lord.”

Zuko stands shaking his head. “No, no formalities. I spend most of my time trying to get people to just call me by my name.” He smiled sheepishly. “I know I have too many father issues to refer to you by any sort of familial name, but I would be honored if you just called me Zuko.”

Ikem put out a hand. “Just Ikem then.” He said with a smile.

Zuko took it warmly. “Just Zuko.”

It was strangely wonderful to eat dinner together like a real family. Ursa told embarrassing stories from Zuko’s childhood that made him blush, and Ikem retaliated with ones about Kiyi. It’s what his family could have been in another world. A little sister kindly teasing him with love, and a father who looked at his mother like she hung every star in the sky. He had to remind himself that this was different, that the trauma he went through still happened, he had a father in jail and a little sister taking recovery day by day. But. This family was his too. 

A record setting hug later, Zuko finally tore himself away from his mother and his sister and Ikem and headed back to his ship. He tucked Izumi into bed, and then cried happy tears with Suki late into the night. He returned to his family in the morning with Izumi, feeling his chest full of pride as his mother got to meet her granddaughter for the first time. Zuko makes a point to take Ikem aside later and assure him that while he had plenty of father issues and wasn’t about to refer to Ikem as anything resembling a dad, he absolutely felt Ikem had the right to be considered Izumi’s grandfather. The older man burst into tears and Zuko found that hugging him wasn’t as weird as he thought it would be.

Several months later, Ursa and her family came to visit in Caldera. Zuko could tell she was nervous, and he did everything he could to ease the tension of the visit. He wanted to show her how much he had changed for the better. When he could see her shoulders finally relax halfway through the tour, he knew he had done well.

His mother’s reunion with Azula was…different. Their relationship had always been tense before, and his sister was still emotionally shaky. But it went as well as he thought it could go for a first visit. There were only tears on Ursa’s side, but Azula did let their mother hug her before she left to return to Ember Island that evening. Zuko could also tell that Azula wasn’t sure what to make of their baby sister, but it was also clear that any feelings she was having weren’t definitively negative. Progress could be made in the future. 

Uncle came for the occasion as well, crying heavy tears as he embraced Ursa. They had lots to say to each other about “their” son. He gave Ikem a hearty handshake as well, glad to finally meet him. He admitted that Ursa had confided in him long ago about her unbroken love for the boy back home, and Iroh was glad to see that it all worked out in the end. 

Zuko does his best to try and convince his mother to not visit Ozai on this trip, and he forces himself to believe her when she says she won’t. He figures a couple extra stab wounds won’t kill the guy. (He can’t believe the straight face she has the next morning. He got woken up in the middle of the night by guards informing him that an unknown visitor snuck into Ozai’s cell and castrated him, balls and all. The man is allowed intensive medical attention for the first time in several years.)

He finally gets to sit alongside the turtleduck pond with his mom again, his daughter in his lap. She will return to her home in Hira’a eventually, but right now he feels unadulterated peace. He has a mother again, and he will never truly lose her. The world had finally righted itself.

**Author's Note:**

> Your honor, Ursa can do what she wants
> 
> Time for posting fanfics at 4 am eyyyyyyyy fight me


End file.
